Just a Little More Time
by TwiFii
Summary: Bella decides to go to University as a human. As long as she's with Edward, everything will be fine...won't it? R&R Better than summary
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series belong to Ms.Stephenie Meyer, not I.**

**Author's note: This is only a draft copy of what to come... but please enjoy.**

**Prologue:**

I sat on the floor, wallowing in melancholy.

Jake was such a good person, and that fact alone made me want to cry. What had I done to deserve a friend as good as him, I would never know. Although it had been so long since I'd seen him last, our unwavering friendship was still as strong as ever. He was supportive, funny and caring.

If I wasn't so irrevocably in love with Edward, then I certainly would have chosen Jake.

"Bells?" Jake's anxious voice cut through my train of thoughts, and I immediately focused on our conversation.

"Sorry, I missed that," I muttered, feeling awful about being unable to pay my full attention to him. It wasn't that I didn't want to-I did. However, there was a storm brewing in my mind, shifting my concentration from left to right, causing giddiness. My voice shook slightly, and I mentally slapped myself for it.

The tremor didn't go unoticed by Jake. I could practically see his brow furrowing, sitting on his tiny bed, lower lip jutted out in suspicion. "Bella, what's wrong?" His voice just confirmed my vision for me.

Those three words caused my grip on the phone to tighten even more, and if possible, I heard a tiny creak in the plastic. My knuckles had turned whiter than Edward's skin, and suddenly (to my horror), moisture welled up in my eyes, wetting my eyelashes. If my grasp were on a human's arm, it would have cut off their blood circulation. It was honestly that tight.

"Yes," I admitted. What was the use of lying? Jake would see right through it as though it were a plastic sheet, anyway. My hair covered my face as my head bowed down even further, and the thick strands nearly touched the floor.

His voice was sharp, as he accussed, "It's _him_, isn't it?" There was no need for him to ask for my verification, when he already knew the answer.

"Yes." Fresh pain threatened to haul me under it's gigantic waves again upon hearing reference to him. Visions of he and Evangeline flashed through my mind, and the tears started to fall.

"He still loves you, doesn't he?" This time, it was a question, and hesitance laced Jake's tone.

I wished that I could agree to Jake's words. I yearned to believe that Edward still loved me, that he still wanted me. But I couldn't.

"Honestly," I whispered, voice cracking on the word. How pitiful. "the words, 'I love you' have never meant less than they have before."

It was only then, that I realized that I was no longer alone in the dormroom. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. He had been bound to find out about my insecurity one way or another, anyway. But I couldn't continue my conversation with Jake. There was only so much that a person could take before they broke down. "I gotta go."

He seemed to understand. His voice was filled with commiseration and he gave me his trademark, "Sure, sure." However, it wasn't in its usual patronizing tone.

"Love you," I mumbled. Because, despite everything, it was true. Jake was my best friend, and I would always love him, even when I turned into a vampire and his scent would (supposedly) disgust me. Always. Forever. Then, I disconnected.

But not before I heard him go, "Love you, too".

Even if Jake had found a new significant other, we would always share that indestructable tie in our friendship. If only I could say the same about Edward's affection to me.

Slowly, I turned around, my heart in my throat, suffocating me in silence.

Edward's eyes were cold and icy as they met mine. They regarded me coolly, but I was still able to identify the hurt in them. I closed me eyes, unable to take the intensity of his glacial glare any longer. I heard the door open, and him leave without so much as a rustle. The tears that had momentarily stopped during my phone call with Jake started flowing freely, and I keeled over, my heart ripped into millions of shreds.

Sometimes, I wished that Edward could read my mind. Then, maybe he would understand how much I loved him -with every single cell in my body. It was undeniable, and would stay that way forever.

Then, maybe he would come back to me.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note:**

**Greetings, readers. I thought that you might like to know that:**

**The story takes place after Eclipse, but without the Epilogue-which means that Jake stays in La Push. There is a preview of the next chapter at the bottom of the page. **

**This story is written in Bella's POV. **

**Thanks,**

_**TwiFii**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight in any shape or form. The original idea belongs to Stephenie Meyer and Stephenie Meyer only.**

Chapter 1:

I stared out of the window of my truck, not really seeing anything. It was a good thing that the road down to La Push was practically deserted during the rainy season in Forks- which meant almost always. It was bad enough that my misfortune regularly carted me to the ER when I was attentive, so when I wasn't paying 100 per cent of my attention to the road like today, it was very likely that I would take another driver down with me by crashing my truck into them.

I wouldn't get hurt too badly- my trusty old Chevy was made of material that even a tank couldn't have damaged- but I didn't exactly want to hurt another person. It was already bad enough that I injured my peers (especially poor Mike) during monstrous gym at school, but it would be mortifying to get into a car accident as well.

Part of it was also the money factor- I was kind of short of cash. Not because of those horrifying shopping sprees that Alice dragged me to or those that Jessica forced me to keep her company with; I wasn't exactly a shopaholic. So where did all my cash gone?

Well, I really couldn't say. Maybe it was after using most of my college fund to buy bike parts so that my personal mechanic could help me build a motorbike that I hardly rode, but I just couldn't afford to start paying for other people's medical fees as well.

Not that money would be that big a problem though. More like Edward making me feel guilty by paying for every single cent of the damage that I had cost. The Cullens spoilt me so badly.

Carlisle already treated me for free every time I was wheeled to the hospital, but the rest of the family always refused to allow me to pay them back for everything they had gave and done for me. To make things worse, Alice had bought about half of what now resided in my closet, and still enjoyed piling me with clothes possibly more expensive than my car. Did I mention that Edward wanted to pay for my college and tuition fee for Dartmouth and buy me a car that I would never run even close to its speed limit?

Oh yeah. The Cullens sodidn't want to stand out. I could so tell -_not. _

The grey sky above me rumbled and the first few drops of rain pelted onto my front window. Thankfully, I was very close to my destination and didn't need to be driving a car with very slow window-wipers in the rain for much longer. A familiar feeling washed through me as Jacob's house came into site.

A mixture of excitement and unexplainable grief overwhelmed me every time I saw the tiny thing that Jake lived in. Excitement because I got to see my best friend again... and the sorrow knowing that it might be my last time. I nearly hit a tree as I clumsily parked at the road close to the place.

Before the engine of my truck turned off completely, Jake was outside my window, a huge grin plastered onto his face, eyes lit with delight. "Bella!" he shouted in obvious enthusiasm. The minute I stepped out of the car, he swooped me up in a bone-crushing embrace. I tried my best not to complain, but my will disintegrated like my bones and I found myself thumping my fist against his back, choking. He allowed me back on my feet and apologized, but the smile was still on his lips. I liked seeing him like this: this was my Jacob.

Sure, things had gotten a little awkward after I had acknowledged my love for Jake. But it was a good thing that there was always a large part in my mind nagging at me about how much Edward meant to me. It kept me sane enough. Besides, Jake was already my best friend, and a great one, too. And no one could be a lover like Edward.

I inhaled a deep breath, inflating my squished lungs with sweet air. Thank goodness I would be able to still respirate when I was a vampire- even if it weren't for the same reasons. "Hey Jake," I greeted him when my breathing pattern finally returned to semi-normal. He just laughed my favourite, warm laugh and grabbed my hand, leading me to the largest part of his house-the garage.

My eyes nearly popped when I saw all these car parts foreign to me (which meant all of them) scattered on the floor. I didn't follow him indoors even though the rain was starting to beat down to me rather painfully, soaking me to the max.

He didn't seem the least bit concerned as he gracefully walked into the garage, towards the couch that looked so out of place there. He turned around, expression half annoyed, half concerned when I didn't follow. "What's wrong, Bells?"

My voice was an octave higher than usual when I shrieked, "What is this? A Bella trap? Do you want me to fall flat on my face every five steps I take, Jacob Black?" I flushed hearing my voice, wondering why my vocal chords had to react so dramatically.

He blinked as though suddenly aware of the deadly components lying dangerously on the floor that he had mindlessly maneuvered. Shaking his head he looked at me, chuckling. I glared at him, and to my pleasure he stopped instantly. "Sorry," the smirk was still there. "I just forgot that they were there. Seeing as most of us aren't as KLUTZY as others."

If looks could kill, then Jake would have been ash on the floor by now.

But they couldn't, so in five long strides he closed the distance in between us. He picked me up, thawing my cold skin. My anger diminished as my skin warmed. He held me to his body and I could hear the very human heartbeat of his thrumming away inside his chest.

That was okay; he wasn't clutching me in a way that offended me the slightest. He held me as a friend.

"I feel like a dying fish," I complained as he set my limp body on the couch and went to the drawer to get a towel. Yes, he kept a whole towel drawer in the garage since it wasn't very rare that I'd come in drenching and shaking like a leaf. He raised a thick black eyebrow at my comparison but didn't say anything. "You know, the flopping around uselessly, drowning and scaly part."

Jake didn't suppress his laughter this time. "Fish don't drown, Bella," he pointed out as he handed me a clean, fluffy towel. I took this opportunity to whack his head with it, although knowing that it didn't hurt him even a tad. It still made me happy to know that I could hit him without shattering my wrist or fracture my knuckle. "But you're dead on about the other parts."

I scowled him heavily, hoping that he would apologize.

He didn't.

I waited until I had rubbed myself dry enough to know that I wouldn't catch pneumonia to ask him, "What are you working on now with all these hundreds and thousands of parts." I gestured to all the innocent looking pieces that covered nearly every inch of the garage and shivered.

Jake's eyes brightened with animation as he started explaining eagerly about some car I had never heard of, waving is hands around like a pantomime. Looking at all the parts on the floor I couldn't remembering how expensive they had been. I didn't want to be rude, but my curiousity got the better of me.

"Jake," I interrupted quickly when he stopped for a breath. He looked at me politely, obviously itching to get on with some kind of fuel he had been telling me about. "not to be a jerk or anything, but I'm honestly curious. Where did you get the money to pay for all these components?"

He smiled at the way I phrased my question. The 'not to be a jerk or anything' term had become a kind of personal thing between he and I. He didn't mind my bluntness at all. "Rich baby boomers starting to recognize my talent," he puffed up his chest and beat it proudly. "I've fixed up several Harleys and BMWs for some of them and they started recommending me to all their friends and colleagues. Business is going really well. They kind of disapprove of the fact that I'm still sixteen, though. I earn quite a lot."

This, even I could tell. "This is really great, Jake. This was always your dream, wasn't it?" I said truthfully.

"Part of it was," he paused, the fire in his onyx eyes suddenly burning from animation to wistfulness as they met mine. "the other part was marrying you."

All the amiability I had been feeling towards him vanished the moment he said that. If I could, I would have fried him on a frying pan for bringing up such a dreaded subject. Not that there was a frying pan large enough to contain Jacob, but still.

I groaned. "Oh Jake. Don't start again."

"Its true," he persisted, starting on his guilt trip. The only person who could beat Jake in a guilt trip was Alice. "Look at what I could've supplied with you, Bella. We would get married. I would have my own business, and you could live your life as a normal human."

I saw, even though I didn't want to. The image just flooded my mind.

An older Jacob sat in a much larger garage, fixing some dysfunctional car. Two kids with his jet black hair ran in and clung to him, squealing in amazement as their father got the engine purring again. Billy would be there, standing proudly over his son, chatting to Charlie about a game. Everything seemed so strangely in place; so perfect.

The horrible part was that I wanted it bad.

But not as bad as what I desired right now. That made me stick to my resolution. I would become a vampire.

I needed Edward-every single cell in my body needed him. He was my air-my lifeline. Jake was my sun, but just as he'd said, he couldn't right an eclipse. If he were my sun, Edward was my eclipse. My drug.

Yes, I needed Jake. He was a true friend that I hardly came across and I loved him. But that was not much compared to how much I needed Edward.

If Jake left, I would be agonized. There was a large chance that I'd fall into depression. I may never get over it, but I would live.

I don't think my heart would be able to take it if Edward ever left me again. It would probably stop functioning on the spot and kill me.

That was how much I loved Edward. I just couldn't live without him. It wasn't just my mind-my body knew it, too. But when I explained that to Jake for the hundredth time, he just shook his head for the hundredth time. I didn't know whether this was werewolf trait or just Jake but boy, was he stubborn.

"I know that you love that leech. But all I'm asking for is a little time. Even the bloodsucker wants you to stay human, Bells. Maybe you'll change your mind." I was willing to do the thing I feared most just to stay with Edward for eternity-get married. I was that devoted to him; there was no way I was changing my mind. Seeing my face, Jake tried a different tactic. "You got into Dartmouth, didn't you?"

I narrowed my eyes and nodded, wondering what he was getting to, now.

"Think of Charlie and Renee. You saw how thrilled you were when you got accepted to that top University. Imagine how proud they would be if you actually went. You would return every holiday, clutching some complicated textbook that I wouldn't understand, explaining what you learnt to your parents. They would be psyched.

"Hell, you could even go with the bloodsucker, I don't care. Every time you came back you could help me with my school work. Get a part time job as a tutor when you're in Forks. You'd be spending time with both the bloodsucker and the rest of us, just like you do now, except the bloodsucker gets to keep you for longer amounts of time. But still, you'll still be able to show your face to the rest of us to tell us that you're safe.

"I'll somehow persuade Sam to allow them to bend the treaty and change you.

"I'll even come to your wedding. Just three years, Bella. Just three more years with us before he gets you for the rest of eternity. Thats how much my time with you means to me. Please Bella... just a little more time."

The information started seeping into my brain. It made a lot of sense, and that troubled me. Usually, none of my conversations with mythical creatures made any sense at all. All I whispered in my poor defence was, "Edward loves me."

Jake's voice was saturated with pain. "You don't seem to realize that other people around you love you too, Bella. Not just me-what about Renee, Charlie and your friends? Don't cut us off."

My resolve was wavering. Jake saw it and slipped through a crack in my armor. "Please," he begged sincerely, and I could tell he meant everything that he'd just said.

I couldn't take it. Even if Jake's motive was just to keep me away from Edward (which would never work), everything he had just said was true. The rain had stopped sometime while we had been talking. (Or rather, he had been talking.) My watch read 1pm, which meant that it was time to go. Edward would be waiting for me impatiently at home.

Jake didn't protest as he carried me back to my car. He was unusually silent the whole way. But before I drove off, a large russet hand reached out and knocked on my frail, old window very gently. I winded it down, partially annoyed and scared.

His tone was so sad that it threw me off guard. "Will I ever see you again?"

That broke me. I was on the verge of tears as I stared at my hazy vision of Jacob. I couldn't keep him hanging like this, but I couldn't say goodbye. He was right-I wasn't ready yet. I couldn't cut him out of my life with a knife yet-the wound would bleed me dry.

"Yes, you will," I promised, sticking my head out. Seeing his doubtful expression, I added, "some time in the near future."

That was all the convincing he needed. He took a step away from my vehicle as its engine roared to life.

"See you soon Bells," he raised his voice over the sound that my car was making.

That was the last thing I heard from Jacob that day as the truck's tires took me away from La Push- and away from him.

**Author's note II:**

**Hope you liked it. **

**Many thanks to TwiTard: my companion, who recommended me to start publishing my work on **

**Here is a preview of the following chapter **

**Please note that it is a selected out-takes, and not necessarily the first paragraph of the next chapter.**

_I bit my lip. I knew how Alice, as a vampire, didn't like that I was hanging out with Jake, but I couldn't help pondering on whether she would give me an unprejudiced opinion if I told her about what was really running around like a werewolf in my mind. "Alice," I whispered, not looking into her deep ocher eyes. "I was talking to Jacob today and..."_


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **

**Get ready for another long chapter! Hope you take delight in reading this.**

**Thank you TwiTard and JustAlyse for encouraging me on posting this chapter. And, of course, all of my other avid readers out there**

**Feedback is much appreciated**

**Enjoy!**

_**TwiFii**_

Chapter 2:

To my surprise, Edward wasn't in a middle of a glaring match with Charlie when I got home.

Not because Charlie was feeling considerate today and had decided to act even the tiniest bit civilized towards the love of my life. Of course, being Charlie, I highly doubted that he ever contemplated on forgiving Edward for leaving me oh so many months ago.

I guess I can't blame him. I mean, if I had a zombie for a daughter for months because some guy broke her heart, I would have happily beat him to death. And enjoyed watching him cook in a pot full of sizzling oil if he dared to enter her life again.

Maybe there was also the fact that Charlie was a single parent that had to do with his reluctance to accept Edward as his soon-to-be-son-in-law. He probably expected me to get tired of Edward the way I got tired of my crayons and file for a divorce. He just didn't seem to understand how much I loved Edward and how much he (I hoped) loved me back.

The reason why Charlie wasn't glowering at our guest when I entered the dining room was because it wasn't Edward who had decided to pay us a little visit. Alice was sitting opposite Charlie, golden eyes glowing and in a deep conversation with him. Her long dark brows were slanted slightly downwards and I instantly knew that she was pulling off one of her famous acts. I glared at her suspiciously. The last time she had successfully pulled one off, I had been turned into her personal Barbie doll in a shopping centre. That had been a very long day indeed.

Her nose crinkled the slightest bit as I sat down next to Charlie, but it smoothed over before he could notice. I could tell what was bothering her-my scent. A small smirk flitted across my lips. I had almost forgotten how much vampires and werewolves were repulsed by each others' smell.

"Sit down, Bella," Charlie said, which was unnecessary as I was already lounging on the chair next to him. My eyes flashed to all the pieces of paper littered all over the dining table and the smug smile twitched twice and turned into a miniscule frown. If the words 'marriage' was of any indication, these documents had to do with the upcoming wedding. I shuddered involuntarily at the word. Ugh. "Alice has been talking about getting you fitted for your wedding dress."

"But I just got fitted three days ago," I wailed causing both Alice and Charlie to cringe; Alice because of her sensitive hearing and Charlie for fear of a tantrum. I tried to calm myself down in vain.

I hated getting fitted into things, especially dresses. The pins pricked at my skin, leaving angry puncture marks in my skin. Thankfully, the needles didn't sink in too far so blood didn't ooze out of the wounds. If they did, firstly, Alice would have to hold her breathe, and secondly, she would have murdered me for staining to white fabric of my wedding dress.

Sometimes I really regretted holding my end of the deal-especially since Edward had offered me an escape not too long ago. The only reason why I was bearing with this was because I knew that he secretly really wanted me to marry him. If I was going to get damned, why not go through a tour of the rest of hell as well?

"But Bella, I haven't added on the pearl buttons yet," Alice trilled in her high, musical voice that made Charlie melt into a puddle of adoration next to me. How embarrassing. At least that showed that he approved of her, unlike to my 'boy'friend.

My eyes popped out at the sound of the gems. Alice was getting pearl buttons? That was over the top- she'd promised me that she wouldn't use any more money than the budget I'd provided her with. And what happened to traditional, plain, nice and easy?

Oh wait, this was Alice Cullen. For someone so intelligent, she never ceased to astonish me with her misunderstanding of those last three words. Charlie looked pained at the thought of those shiny disks as well, but didn't say anything. Seeing how I had gone from pale to alabaster white in a matter of three seconds, he chose the right time to leave the room. But even the blare of the TV was a measly buzzing compared to my screech.

"You promised that you wouldn't go over the top," I hissed angrily. Alice didn't seem the slightest bit fazed even though I was using my most enraged tone on her. She played with her fingers childishly until the colour returned to my face.

Once she was sure I wasn't going to get a heart attack, she chirped, "thats not over _my_ budget." I couldn't agree less-she was loaded. When I continued to give her the black look, she sighed. Her perfect lower lip started trembling and her eyes filled with fake tears. Oh no, I thought to myself, but it was too late. "Please, Bella? I only want to help with your first wedding. Rosalie never lets me do anything for hers and Esme always chooses a quiet, boring ceremony."

"They're very wise to do so," I muttered, but didn't persevere. Nothing could make Alice change her mind once it was set. While she ranted on about the wedding that I had no control whatsoever over, my thoughts drifted off to Rosalie, the member of the family that I was least close to.

We hadn't spoken since the time that she had told me her unfortunate tale in Edward's room. She had gone back to her usual, reserved-from-Bella self and hardly even looked my way every time I went over to the Cullen household. I was sure that she couldn't hate me as much as she used to, but also well aware that I was probably not her favourite person in the entire world. I was gradually getting there, though. Complimenting Rosalie on her looks always seemed to put her in a good mood, even coming from the plain human-me.

I still couldn't believe that she was jealous of me. Of course, I would have understood if she didn't have Emmett -seeing as Edward was so gorgeous- but she already had a love. She looked appealing in anything, and she knew how to further compliment her beauty, too. I didn't envy her-how could I? After all, I had Edward- but the prospect of her wanting anything of mine was absurd.

"Hello? Bella?" Alice touched my cheek. The contact of her icy skin jolted me back to reality. It took me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust from the image of wonderful Rosalie to the vivacious beauty in front of me. She misinterpreted my floating mind to be preoccupied with Edward instead of her adoptive sister. Her features softened, and she said, "I'm so sorry that Edward isn't here. He had to accompany Jasper and Emmett hunting."

I nodded. When I had seen Edward last night, his eyes had been raven black with thirst. He hadn't even kissed goodnight. I would much rather him leave me for several hours than not kiss him whenever I saw him next. For some reason, Jacob's words started to enter my mind.

I bit my lip. I knew how Alice, as a vampire, didn't like that I was hanging out with Jake, but I couldn't help pondering on whether she would give me an unprejudiced opinion if I told her about what was really running around like a werewolf in my mind. "Alice," I whispered, not looking into her deep ocher eyes. "I was talking to Jacob today and..."

"He doesn't want you to get married?" Her melodious voice was as sharp as it could get, and I winced, instantly feeling sorry that I had ever mentioned anything to her. I sneaked a look at her, and was caught by her fiery gaze.

"Well, yes," I admitted, shrinking away from her. "But thats not the problem. The thing is, this time Jake is so desperate that he'd even come to our wedding if I even consider this."

Knowing that her precious wedding wasn't off or under any threat, Alice's eyes softened considerably, but she still looked worried. "What is it, then?"

Taking a deep breathe, I started, too ashamed by what a pushover I was to look her straight in the face. "Jacob wants more time." She knitted her eyebrows together. "I know thats nothing new. But this time, he brought in..." I glanced anxiously to the living room. Charlie was still very much engulfed in the world of Major League Baseball. I softened my voice just in case anyway. "he brought in Charlie and Renee."

When I finally dared to peek at Alice, the furious look was back. She tilted her head back a little and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger; a gesture that Edward frequently used when frustrated. After ten long seconds, she started respire again. I let out a breathe that I had been unknowingly holding-sometimes I forgot that Alice didn't _need_ to breathe. "That dog," she seethed through clenched teeth. "Thats an all time low, even for him." She looked like she wanted to say more, but graciously held her tongue.

"I know," I agreed softly, gaze dropping back onto the hypnotic swirls of the table cloth; bronze, just like Edward's hair. "But he got me thinking, Alice. Please don't tell Edward, I know he'd gloat, but I don't feel ready to leave my parents behind yet. Well, them and Jake. Charlie and Renee would both be overjoyed if I came to visit them every break. I still want to become one of you, but I think that... I think that just a few years of college might not hurt. Who knows-maybe I'll even enjoy it."

"Bella," Alice sounded faintly amused now. "Is that all? More time? Edward will be delighted! You don't know how long he's been sulking around at home about how he wants you to reconsider the change!"

This time, my voice was harsh. "I'm not reconsidering. I just thought that more time would be sufficient. You know what? Never mind. I'll just get Edward to bite me after the wedding!"

Alice's eyes widened in alarm. "No, no. Thats not what I mean. I wasn't mocking you, Bella," she said hastily, and I knew that she was telling the truth. She smiled sheepishly. "I'm probably the most avid about you becoming a vampire in the whole family, but I'm actually glad that you're thinking this over. I would hate for you to feel pressured into this. After all, this is irreversible. Don't worry about Edward, he'll understand."

Alice understood. I felt a swell of affection for my sister figure and stood up to walk towards her. She seemed pretty surprised when I wrapped my arms around her in an embrace. "Thank you, Alice," I whispered into her ear. "But please don't tell Edward. I want to tell him for myself." I straightened up and laughed inwardly at how pleased she looked.

"You'll be seeing him tonight," she assured me after closing her eyes for a split second. Her eyes flickered to the kitchen clock. "I better be going." She rose gracefully and started to leave. "Bye Charlie," she bid my father goodbye as she danced to the front door.

"See you soon, dear," Charlie didn't actually bothered to look away from the TV screen for a second. He must really like her.

Before she left, Alice turned around to squeeze my hand. "I promise that he won't be mad, Bella," she vowed.

I smiled at her, my heart thumping irregularly just at the thought. "Is that a vision or a prediction?" I joked, but she was already gone. I heard the ghost of her laughter as I watched a flash of yellow disappear down the road towards the sunset.

**Author's note II**

**Special Thanks to: TwiTard for proofreading this material for me, albeit making no changes. It was nice to have a good first opinion.**

**A sneak peek at an out-take from Chapter 3:**

_After the wildfire in his eyes simmered down a little, he allowed me to worm my way back into his arms. I sighed in satisfaction, molding into his hard body. I could stay in that position forever-as long as it was with Edward. I could do anything as long as I was with him, except maybe trip and fall on my head-because he would catch me in time. He was always there, protecting me._


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

**Bonjour. This isn't one of the better chapters, but it does give an introduction to Edward's character...**

**Most chapters will be of about this length or shorter. The first two were just extremely long...**

**Thanks to all my readers (especially lizardbreath966)  
Please note that I will no longer be sending any more messages, because for some unknown reason, my account will not allow me to message anyone. So please just leave comments on the chapters.**

**Hope you like it!**

**Cheers,**

**TwiFii**

**Chapter 3**

"Hey," I was in bed reading Wuthering Heights for the fifteenth time when I felt Edward's arms around my waist. I couldn't help a little jump- he had materialized out of nowhere, just as usual. Although Edward always claimed that he entered my room through the window, I had my suspicions; that he hid somewhere inside my wardrobe beforehand just to creep up on me later on.

Feeling Edward's presence, my body automatically relaxed. Putting my novel down, I twisted around in his arms to face him. "Edward," I sang, throwing my arms around him. He chuckled at my overly keen gesture, ruffling my hair the way an adult did to a child. He peeled me off a fraction so that he could kiss me properly on the lips. I felt a pleasant surge of electricity run through me as his icy lips met mine. If I were an electric toy, then Edward was my battery; I couldn't function properly without him.

"Missed me?" He laughed when I surfaced for breathe. I mock glared at him: I mean, what kind of question was that? He already knew what my reply would be.

While waiting for my heart rate to go back to normal, I drank in his godlike beauty once more. His untidy bronze hair was slightly messier than usual- I was surprised that he hadn't gotten any twigs stuck to it this time- and a boyish grin lit his face like a bright neon sign that cried out, 'Edward'. I felt his hard muscles underneath my hands and smiled. He looked like a movie star, as usual.

Burying my face in the crook of his neck, I hunted my way up to his lips, which I kissed with much vigor, confirming my answer-not that I wouldn't have kissed him if he didn't need ratification to my response. He laughed again, but to my satisfaction, kissed me back.

Then, all too soon, he pulled away.

I didn't bother to hide my disappointment as I slithered off his lap so that he could regain control. As much as I trusted Edward, there were times I just could not help wondering whether he craved for my blood more than my soul.

His eyes that danced wildly were a rich ocher in colour today. It was a refreshing change from the equally stunning but darker shade it had been for the past few weeks. Edward was still reluctant to leave my side- he knew that it brought back my abandonment nightmares, but I had managed to convince him that his feeding needs were far too important to be ignored. No need to tell him how my nail-biting habit returned every time he was gone-I didn't want him to die of malnutrition!

I was glad to have let him gone. Seeing Edward so content always made me happy as well. Also, he was a grouch when he was hungry. Edward might not have been human, but he was man-and that was one of the many characteristics that proved it.

After the wildfire in his eyes simmered down a little, he allowed me to worm my way back into his arms. I sighed in satisfaction, molding into his hard body. I could stay in that position forever-as long as it was with Edward. I could do anything as long as I was with him, except maybe trip and fall on my head-because he would catch me in time. He was always there, protecting me.

"Alice was translating the Iliad into Japanese when I got home," he breathed in cold puffs into my ear. His hand traced up and down my back, touch as light as helium, causing a shiver to run down my spine. It was amazing how I could feel all these things in a pleasurable manner when Edward was the one causing the reaction. His fragrant reached my smelling radar and I inhaled deeply. That was a mistake. My brain started packing all its belongings, shutting off networks. "Is there any chance you know what she was on about?"

"Hmm?" It was hard to focus on anything when Edward was around. It took me some time to catch his words and even longer to process it. I was intoxicated by his mere presence. "Pardon?"

Edward shook his head in satirized disapproval. "Alice was blocking me out. Most of the time when she does that, her reason is you. Do you have any idea why she's acting so queerly?" He kissed me in a manner that was so compelling that my brain that had finished packing flew off to Hawaii for a holiday. Goodbye rationality.

Too bad for Edward, he didn't know how to extract information from someone who's brain wasn't presently with them. After several more failed efforts, he stopped kissing me coaxingly, evidently let down. Giving up on trying to get me to see some sense, he dropped it. Instead, he tried to start an intelligent conversation with me, to start getting my mind back together. "So, how was Jacob's today?"

That jerked me from Edward land back to harsh, cruel reality. I frowned deeply, all my worries cascading into my head the way a waterfall tumbled into the river below. It came rushing back and hit the vacant pit with such a huge impact that my brain had occupied with such impact that my cerebrum was forced to return a little early from its vacation.

Although Edward had planned on letting me off the hook with Alice, he probably hadn't guessed that her thoughts were linked to Jacob. I suddenly became very cautious of my actions and words. I wanted to break this to him in a very subtle manner. "We talked." There. That technically wasn't a lie, was it? After all, we did talk... about several things.

Perhaps it was a little too vague, because he noticed how little information I was willing to share and instantly got suspicious.

"What did you two talk about?"

I squirmed, his intense, tawny gaze making me incapable of looking away. "At first, we talked about cars. He told me about how his business was doing. Apparently 'rich baby boomers' have started to recognise his talent." His lip twitched upwards, hearing that.

"What talent?" He threw in an unnecessary comment, causing me to do my very best to glare at him. Which wasn't easy, but hey-at least I'd tried, right? Then, seeing my golden opportunity to sidetrack him, I grabbed it.

"That's so mean! Could you be less civilised towards Jacob than you are right now? He didn't say anything bad about you today." That was true as well. Our conversation had revolved mainly me being human. "He has a natural flair for engineering. He made this wolf from a lump of wood, even you must detect the genius from this. He's really good on his hands-as surprising as that sounds." At the word 'wolf', I jutted out my left wrist that I wore my bracelet on and shook it in front of Edward's face. The russet wolf and diamond heart on opposite sides clinked softly against the silver chain.

He grimaced and ,in a flash, had my hands in an iron strong grip. His long fingers easily formed manacles around my wrists. They felt cooler than usual after hanging out with Jake all day. "If you're trying to get me jealous, its working." He moved so that he could kiss me. This one was a little more confident and demanding than any others we had experienced tonight. "Alright then. He's almost as genius as you are when you're trying to distract me."

Damn, it hadn't worked. Stupid overly-clever vampire. The sentence made no sense to me whatsoever, insulting and praising him at the same time. I huffed, glaring at the rocking chair that sat innocently in a corner in my room. Seeing my troubled expression, his turned into apprehensive.

"Bella," he said. "what are you keeping from me?"

How did I explain to him that I wanted to stay mortal for just a little while longer? He would probably misinterpret my meaning and take it that I no longer wished to become his significant. How did I tell him why I had decided to even listen to Jake's option?

But then, I thought of what both Alice and Jacob had told me. Jacob had been so nostalgic... and I couldn't have found someone any more comforting than my sister-to-be. Both of them would have wanted for me to tell the truth and get it over with. I was sure that if I didn't, Alice would do the job for me. Edward would be even more doubtful if he heard a second-hand account from the future-seeing little vampire.

So I told him.

It wasn't easy. I stumbled over my sentences and tripped over words with more than two vowels. But eventually, it started flowing and I managed to tell him about Jacob's proposal, albeit it being very messy and the paragraphs not well structured.

Edward's face had turned into a mask of disbelief once I was done. At first, I was worried that he was going to explode.

So you cannot imagine my shock when his expression smoothed over and he chuckled.

**Lets take a look into chapter 4...**

_"Why is it," a twinkle entered his eyes. I braced myself for a hard question. There was no way I was going to be able to answer whatever he was about to ask me... it would be very problematic, for sure "that you turn your head away every time I do so much as hint that the idea of you staying human for just another year wouldn't be so bad, but listen to Jacob Black's plea for three years of college?"_


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

**Disclaimer: Just wanted to re-enforce the fact that I DON'T own Twilight. But the plot kind of belongs to me...**

**Thanks for everyone who's reading my stuff. I hope that I'm improving... although (personally) I do not find this chapter and the previous ones as well written as the first two. I could improve my work if some people commented -hint hint-**

**Anyway, onto my work.**

**Cheers,**

**TwiFii**

I froze, hearing the chuckle. It was earnest, not smug and I had actually found a trace of humor in it. It sounded so...

So, well, _normal_.

Whenever his laughs had anything to do with Jacob, they were always so beautifully bitter that it was painful. His reactions to do with my best friends were more or less the only things that had stuck to the dialogue I usually wrote out for him in my mind. I really wished that I could check he was alright.

Maybe while he had been hunting, some guy had mistaken him for a leopard or something and shot him in the head. The bullet would not have penetrated his skull, but there was a good chance that it could have jumbled up his brain.

I wished I knew what he was thinking. That made me green with envy over his ability. Lucky Edward, being able to listen to what others were pondering over.

I was also wickedly glad that Edward couldn't read my mind. It made us the tiniest bit more even, and helped keeping me sane.

When Alice had told me that he would not be mad, I had never even given the possibility that Edward had lost his head a single thought. Now, what Alice had assured me didn't seem as soothing as it had before. His response had been most unexpected. Either he had gone insane, or Edward had not heard anything I had mentioned.

I watched him uncertainly. Out of the two options, him going crazy seemed far more likely. Edward ears always seemed to perk up when I even mentioned the name 'Jacob'.

"Edward?" I asked, a little scared. "What's wrong?" This was so unlike him. He was usually more of what I defined as 'solemn', compared to 'carefree'. It probably had something to do with being an olden-day gentleman. Jake would never have managed to survive in the 19th Century. He would have probably gotten beheaded for spitting at a soldier's shoe or something.

He stopped laughing abruptly and his expression shuffled into a poker face. His sudden mood change caught me off guard. "I'm sorry, Bella," he apologized.

I shot him a puzzled look.

I had no idea why he was asking for forgiveness, when there was nothing to forgive. He -as far as I knew- hadn't done anything out of the ordinary to offend me. After all, his jibes at Jake was nothing new. The feeling was mutual: Jake just tended to add more colourful words with interest. I was well aware that my love and best friend didn't like each other and, unfortunately, that they could not manage being courteous to each other to say the least.

Edward answered my unspoken question. "I think I frightened you there. But it is rather strange, don't you think?" At first, I thought that he was talking about his bizarre reaction and nodded. Then, I grasped that he had meant my change of mind.

I seriously started to wonder whether he just pretended to be unable to decipher my thoughts for entertainment purposes. Not all of his questions were humiliating, but he seemed to be expecting my answer every time. That would explain a lot- like why he bothered to hang out with me. Televisions and computers must have gotten boring after several decades.

"Why is it," a twinkle entered his eyes. I braced myself for a hard question. There was no way I was going to be able to answer whatever he was about to ask me... it would be very problematic, for sure "that you turn your head away every time I do so much as hint that the idea of you staying human for just another year wouldn't be so bad, but listen to Jacob Black's plea for three years of college?"

Oh.

Relief washed through my veins like the antidote to my overheated blood, calming my pulse down. That was not half as bad as I had expected-but it was still awfully unpleasant. Trust Edward to look so earnest when asking such a stupid question.

I smiled at him weakly, trying to think up a good excuse that would not trigger his 'upset' behaviour. It was so convenient of my brain to just switch off the moment the question left his lips... now I wrack my brain for documents, that came out empty. Finally, after searching every single section of my mind and coming up with point blank, I had no choice but to tell him one of my reasons.

"He mentioned Charlie and Renee," I said, cringing at the thought of him getting really mad-not at me, but at Jacob. After all, according to Alice, Jake had hit an 'all time low'. It was also healthier for Edward if he didn't get enraged;according to scientific facts, you lived longer if you didn't get angry as often. It had something to do with your stress hormones.

Edward was not convinced. He raised one of his perfect eyebrows-another thing that I could not do. "I referred to your parents as well, Bella," he hinted. When I stared at him, perplexed, he sighed. I could practically see him thinking, 'Goodness, why is my girlfriend so dense?' Instead of speaking them out loud, he said, "I was thinking that it had something more to do with me. I mean, what other distinction is there? Is it that you have chosen to Jacob over me for once?"

He was right... and he was wrong. Yes, it did have something to do with him... but of course, I would have to be completely demented to choose Jake over him. I was just reflecting on what my personal mechanic had said. As sorry as I felt for Jake, it was true. But somewhere, far far away, inside my mind, I knew that Jake would sooner or later find the right girl for him and imprint her. She would be a very lucky girl, getting Jacob's love... and hopefully, unlike myself, she would appreciate it, too. However, if Edward ever parted again, I was sure that he would die inside, as well.

My life without Edward was like my existence without my soul (no offense to those vampires who thought they didn't have one. A soul, I mean).

How could he not comprehend that I needed him? I had lost count of how many times I had told him that I loved him after a thousand. I would willingly throw myself into a burning building to rescue him-not that he would need to be saved. No... I was always the one who ended up being the damsel in distress.

"No," I huffed, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. "I did not choose him over you, Edward! You of all people should understand how much I love you."

Edward's eyes grew very soft. "Then why are you deciding this now?"

I bit my lip, wishing that I could explain the stabs of guilt I felt in words. Every day that I got closer to become a vampire, the stronger the remorse grew. Even if I had not listened to Jake, I was sure that I would have ended up asking for more time. I was certain of that much.

"Edward... the difference between you and Jacob speaking to me is that I already belong to you. Jake keeps on yearning for something that he can never have, and it makes me feel terrible, but that doesn't mean that I love you any less than before. If anything, my affection for you increases every day," I said quietly. "You get me forever... my parents and Jake only have me left for so many weeks now. I'm not ready to leave them behind yet."

My eyes were glued to the cracked spine of Wuthuring Heights. I felt as broken and fragile as the old book that now lay on my bed. It looked so dainty that a single gust of wind would tear it apart. How I wished that Edward could somehow see what I felt for him. If he had from the start, then perhaps he would not have left me after my eighteenth birthday. That way, I might have been able to avoid hurting Jacob so much.

Edward's elegant fingers cupped my chin and he tugged gently, forcing me to face him. Half of the crooked smile that I was crazy about adorned his lips, but they did not reach his eyes, that burned with unidentifiable emotion. "Bella," he whispered. "if you're regretting your decision, I really don't mind you backing out." He managed to look both disappointed and satisfied at the same time.

Why was it that both Cullens I had told thought that I no longer wanted to turn into a vampire? Of course I did!-so that I could spend my existence with Edward. It was ludicrous, the way they saw me; an innocent human being, so frail that they could break me like a twig. I wanted to be their equal... to be as good as them.

I scowled at Edward from my position in his lap. It took some twisting and turning, but I did it. Grabbing his face with both my hands, I dragged it up to mine, until out noses were only an inch apart. "Edward Cullen," I said slowly and clearly (but quietly for fear of Charlie coming in). A ball of fury as steaming hot and large as the sun erupted in my system and the heat coursed through my veins. "All I'm asking for is just a little more time. Which part of that do you not get?"

His eyes glittered in the dim light that glowed from my bedside lamp. He leaned in closer, eyes as alive as mine, and momentarily, I forgot that his heart did not beat. In that second, we were just a man and a woman. Lovers.

"Everything. But if it is a little more time you ask for," his lips met mine in one of the sweetest kisses in the history of our relationship. It left me completely dazed. Edward had dazzled me once more. He rested his head on my collarbone; he was listening to my heart. A small smile grazed his irresistibly handsome features and he closed his honey gold eyes and breathed in. "it's a little more time you shall get."

**Preview of Chap 5:**

_Edward seemed to have unravelled my inner motive, and held his hand up to stop me. Furiously, he shook his head from side to side, trying to warn me not to get any closer. Covering the mouthpiece, he hissed, "you really don't want to take this call, Bella."_

**Thank you**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Just to be safe, I don't own Twilight or its A/N: **

**Recap: so far, Bella has talked to Jake, decided that college isn't such a bad idea and told Alice and Edward. Now, she has to tell Jake what their going to do...**

**Once again, not one of my favourite chapters... but ah, I shall live. Please bear with me... I'm trying my best to make the next chapter better. It will certainly be more lively**

**REVIEW: I'm pushing 10 reviews or more for the next chapter to be posted.**

**Hint: the equation of Bella + Alice + Shopping Next chapter**

**TwiFii**

My phone rang at 7 in the morning, waking me up and starting my usual holiday routine three hours earlier than normal.

At first, I ignored it, mashing my pillow over my head. But no matter how hard I tried to bury myself in pillows, the ringing could not be completely blocked out. Its piercing shrill got louder with every buzz. After about seven shrieks, I woke up. Groggily, my hand inched towards my mobile, trying to stop an oncoming headache at the same time.

However, when I saw the caller ID, most of the drowsiness lifted. It screamed out, Alice Cullen. That was peculiar-Alice usually never called me from this early in the morning. She respected my human needs-such as eating, having a human minute and sleeping (which was, by the way, quite hard when you had a ridiculously attractive vampire watching your every move). I flipped the cover open, but could not help yawn out, "Morning Alice. How may I help you?"

She didn't bother to even to greet me in return. Her voice was frantic as she shrieked, "Bella, the wedding, the wedding-"

In a flash, Edward was by my side and my phone had moved from my ear to his. "Alice," he said sharply. "What is it?"

There was some buzzing, and Edward's eyebrows shot up. His face went from fretful to exasperated. He sighed and said something into the mouthpiece-too fast for me to catch. There was another rush from Alice, and he bared his teeth. I watched, mesmerized as they glinted in the sunlight that had entered through my window. He shook his head and murmured in response, frustration lacing his tone. His eyes darted to where I sat on the bed for a fraction of a second, before he returned to arguing back and forth with his sister.

Intrigued by his incongruous conduct, I held out my hand for the phone. "Let me talk to Alice."

Alice, with her sensitive hearing, seemed to be agreeing with me over the phone. She no longer sounded as panicky as she had before, but I could still pick out the trace of desperation with my human ears. Edward barked something to her, and she countered back. I was starting to feel irked by their secretive exchange. Had Edward and I not agreed to tell each other everything?

In a louder-but not loud enough to awaken Charlie- and distinct voice, I demanded, "Hand me the phone, Edward."

The volume of normal human speech after all his whispers with Alice made him jump. Catching the phone before it landed on the floor and cracked open like an egg, he glared at me, irritated. Grr... unfairly swift vampire. At least if the phone had broken, their secret conversation would be put to a halt. I weighed my chances of grabbing my phone from him. They were not good.

Edward seemed to have unravelled my inner motive, and held his hand up to stop me. Furiously, he shook his head from side to side, trying to warn me not to get any closer. Covering the mouthpiece, he hissed, "you really don't want to take this call, Bella."

I could tell that he was serious, but that just triggered my curiosity. I wagged my finger at him, beckoning him to come closer. When he was within reaching distance, I took a swipe for my mobile. A strong white hand pinned mine onto the cushion, the other's fingers still secure around the phone. Giving me a quick, teasing peck on the lips, he stood up and started pacing up and down my small room-walking from one side to another in several long strides.

Both Alice and I shouted, "Edward!" in unison. She must have screamed, because I could actually hear her from the bed. Alice nattered into one of her brother's ear, and I went up to him and started talking into his other one. Being Edward, his mind worked differently from ours, and he could think more than one thing at a time. But that didn't mean that having two people lecturing you in both ears was a pleasant thing. This had to be torture to Edward.

Finally, making a face, Edward all but willingly passed me my mobile. Its sleek surface slipped around between my fingers like a banana peel, but eventually, I got a good grip on it. "Hey Alice, why are you so upset? What happened with the wedding?" I was curious and slightly frightened.

"Bella," Alice wailed. "it's gone! I can't see any of my decorations properly! Oh this is terrible... now I will never know how many roses should be put in per vase!"

I was a little slow on catching on. Where had my wedding 'gone'? Was it because it was off? That made me want to both sigh in relief and snarl in anger; relief for the obvious reason and anger because the longer Alice got to think of new decorations, the more elaborate the wedding became. If she could, she would have released a million white doves in the Church. For once, I was glad that Charlie was allergic to feathers.

"How many werewolves did you invite, Bella?"

Right. Werewolves. Of course-why hadn't I guessed?

I was definitely not a morning person.

So far, I had sent out an invitation to the Clearwaters. The other wolves had not been very happy about my choice of becoming a vampire-especially Sam, who felt that I had sort of 'betrayed' him. I still did love the Quilettes... they were just so unique. Billy spun the most interesting tales, Sam was such a good leader, Embry and Quil were hilarious in a strange kind of way and Emily was like an older sister to me. We (the Quilettes and I) stayed on good terms, but weren't as close as we had been upon Edward's leave.

Leah wasn't very pleased with me, but young bubbly Seth enjoyed the company of vampires. After taking on the terrifying duo on Mount Olympia, they seemingly got along just as well as we humans got along together. In fact, Seth and Edward were unexpectedly close -daresay even friends- and had their own inside joke of being a teammate of a vampire/werewolf.

Which proved that vampires and werewolves could get along if they wanted to, and that it was all just a matter of prejudice. Carlisle was an exception to the Quilettes-he had healed Jake after the fight- but they were still wary of the rest of the Cullens... most of all Edward. Likewise, the Cullens didn't favor the wolves very much. Why couldn't all of them just act as congenial as Seth? He was a good example to all of them back in La Push.

The only other person I had asked was Jacob...

Jacob.

That reminded me. I had to call him as soon as possible to tell him about my decision. I wanted to tell him before anyone-even Alice. After all, it had been his idea. The least I could do was return all those calls I had found on my mobile last night after hurting him so bad. The future seeing vampire would just have to wait until for her explanation. "Alice, I'll call you back later. I'm sure with your brains, you'll be able to visualize the amount of roses needed at the wedding." Before she could protest, I hung up on her.

Edward watched me as I my fingers clumsily punched numbers into the phone's pad. He looked curious. I guessed the question in his mind and answered it. "I'm calling Jacob. He has the right to know."

Apprehension dawned on Edward, and he nodded. He didn't look too pleased, but he had no rights to deny me for phoning my best friend. After all, it had been his offer that I needn't chose between the two of them. He sat in the rocking chair, emitting beauty all around my otherwise unexciting room.

It didn't take Jake long to answer. "Jacob Black speaking," he said sluggishly. It was nice to hear him sound sleepy. It reminded me just how human he was. Not that, of course, I had problems with non-humans.

"Jake," I had forgotten that it was still dawn. "I spoke to Edward." Poor Jake-he sounded so weary.

Jake sounded wide awake when he asked eagerly, "Really? What did he say?" I laughed at his gusto. Normally, when I hinted anything about my 'boy'friend, he went into defense mode and insulted Edward with every word he knew. I had never known that his vocabulary was so impressive. Where was he learning that language anyway?-certainly not at school!

"Well..." I tried to stretch the word into three syllables. "Lets see..." I decided to keep the suspense by not answering for a minute. That turned out to be thirty seconds too long. Jake became extremely agitated.

"Look Bells," he snapped, "You didn't wake me up at 8 am to give me the silent treatment. What did he say?"

"Well..." I stalled, envisaging how he looked. Vexed, most likely. If he were an anime, he would be a dragon with flames flaring out of his nostrils. In his impatience, Jake would probably be denting something. Not the table, I hoped. Billy only had one dining table-and it was a pretty cool one, too. I heard some strange crackling on the other end, and I realised what was happening. Before he smashed his phone in his large palm, I squealed out, "he said that it was no problem."

Jake didn't sound as rapturous as I'd predicted. The way he sniffed made it appear that he'd expected that all along. That disappointed me; I had a half-mind about not going to college after all, but after considering the cons and pros, determined that yelling at Jake wouldn't be the best choice. That could wake Charlie up.

"You're coming...right?" I asked tentatively, remembering his promise.

He wasn't happy, but he agreed on attending my wedding. He might have added that he wished he were the groom, if my fiance wasn't within hearing limits, and would have charged over the border to break his neck. Somehow, I think that Jake sensed this, because the course of the conversation flowed towards what he planned to achieve this holidays. One of them was getting a girlfriend. I laughed at that one, but sobered up when he explained that it was the 'only thing' he could do, since I was leaving. I tried to insinuate that he may actually imprint-although the legends said that it was rare, that was being questioned amongst the younger generation after three in the pack had already imprinted-, but he waved the possibility away. To my utter delight, he actually offered to be my best man.

Never mind the substance, but the talk was free from tension and lighthearted compared to my conversations with Jake lately. "Charlie will shoot you if you come in a pair of jeans," I warned him, steering back to our main issue. "Alice can't see what's going to happen, and it worries her."

I could just picture the sixteen year old on the other end-most likely to be sitting on the couch- smirking. He loved that Alice's abilities didn't take effect on his kind. He called it their 'gift' to protect them from 'bloodsuckers'. He even had the nerve to sneer about her flair. But all in all, he was in a good mood.

Edward was starting to get bored. Glancing at the fine American male specimen lounging on the rocking chair, I realised that it was time for me to go. "I gotta fly, Jake." Yes, fly into my love's arms and kiss him. "See you at the wedding... in a week's time."

"Yeah," he grumbled. "I guess I will, huh. Man, its going to stink."

I laughed. "Love you, Jake," I said.

"Love you more," then he disconnected.

A delightful feeling started to escalate. Jake had agreed to go along with my plan. Jake had finally acquiesced that I belonged with Edward.

Okay. Maybe that was a little far fetched. Even if Jake did get imprinted, I knew that he would never like Edward... and not only because he was the vampire who stole the girl whom he loved away from him. I knew why he held a special grudge against Edward... just the way my father did.

I crawled over to Edward, and onto him. Nestling my head against his chest, I sighed with satisfaction. Edward laid his cold cheek against my head and started stroking my hair. The world could have frozen, and I would have done the same. As long as I was with Edward, I was alright.

As long as I was with Edward, nothing could make me unhappy... ever.

**How did you find that? It will be better next time... I promise. Much more lighthearted and funny.**

**Hate it? Love it? Click review to comment.**

**Chapter 6 out-take (Hope you like it):**

_I knew that it was trouble when my soon-to-be sister in law came skipped over to our house and rapped on the front door. This meant that she was desperate for me to do something... and that meant getting Charlie's permission. Something that Charlie would allow... and something that I wouldn't like. _


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

**Just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading and supporting my stories for me. **

**I'm going to get a little mean now. Lets try for 15, or no updates. The more reviews, the faster I update**

**Cheers,**

**TwiFii**

Before I knew it, time had flown by, and it was my last night of being Isabella Swan, the human definition of the word klutz.

I would still be stunningly uncoordinated, like a bull in a china shop, but I hardly doubted that it would change-even when I became a cool, beautiful (if anyone can actually modify my plain looks) vampire. I would probably slip on wet grass or something while hunting in the woods and fall onto my prey, squishing it to death, instead of pouncing on it like the rest of the fluid Cullens. Hey-at least I would still 'catch' my prey, right?

But still. From the following day onwards, I would no longer hold the title of being the world no.1 award of being the clumsiest human alive by the name of Isabella Swan, but by Isabella Cullen. And I couldn't wait. Jake had agreed (albeit a little too reluctantly for my liking) to be my best man.

Not for the wedding ceremony. That was, in fact, one of the scariest things I would do in my whole life. Maybe even number 4. 3rd being the day inside the Volturi's cave. The night that Victoria's army had attacked was number 2. And first?

Simple: going shopping with Alice. Even if she did have a cute, innocent little face, that tiny pixie was lethal. And I wasn't just talking about her venom.

No one had the same level of persuasion skill like Alice. Only Edward had the special effect on me, since he was so handsome that he dazzled me into answering questions that made me regret it later on. And it partially had to do with the fact that I was blindly in love with him. Of course, not as blind as he was to me; the ordinary looking girl. Did vampires need glasses? Because if any of them did, it was Edward. If he actually used his senses to look at me, he would probably dash off to Alaska or something and never come back. Someone as boring as me didn't deserve a guy as gorgeous as Edward.

I knew that it was trouble when my soon-to-be sister in law came skipped over to our house and rapped on the front door. This meant that she was desperate for me to do something... and that meant getting Charlie's permission. Something that Charlie would allow... and something that I wouldn't like.

I was still pondering the outcome of little Alice's visit when Charlie called me down to the kitchen. I wasn't surprised to see my second favourite vampire (first, of course, being Edward) sitting opposite him, blowing on her nails that were coated with varnish the colour of candy apples. That was the only type of make-up Alice applied most of the time. I guess having bones like steel meant that they wouldn't deteriorate even if you slithered them with any kind of chemical. She was naturally charming, and it wouldn't do her any good if she just powdered herself with foundation. Although, being Alice, she would be able to pull it off without so much a problem as a mascara fleck.

Which meant that most of the time, I became her experiment, where she tried to glamorize me. To my astonishment, sometimes, it actually worked. What was I saying; it worked all the time.

But that didn't mean I enjoyed sitting rigidly on a seat in Alice's bigger-than-bedroom-sized closet, getting poked and prodded by evil brushes that claimed that they would enhance someone's beauty. I really wondered why the Cullens had them, when they were all so inhumanely beguiling without the help of those lying products. Maybe it was just for decoration; Alice seemed like the kind of girl who would like sparkly glass and perfume bottles would just be perfect for her collection. And guess who she sprayed it on to get it empty?

"Bella," Charlie started, expecting me to pick up from where they had left their conversation. "tonight's your last night of being Bella Swan."

Oh, didn't I know that. I waited for more... maybe even an awkward emotional outburst, but nothing came. Finally, I said, "I don't know what you're getting at."

Alice sighed, the sound unfairly sweet, as though she were a teacher patiently trying to teach a kindergarten child why eating dirt wasn't healthy.

Charlie looked kind of uncomfortable. "Well, Bella, Alice was telling me what girls usually do on the night before they get married and..." Nervous, I darted a look at Alice. What was she up to, now?

"We're having a sleepover tonight, Bella," Alice cheered. My eyes betrayed me and widened in horror. I didn't need the handy gift of seeing the future to see myself getting dragged around the largest mall within the continent, getting piled with cloths until I wouldn't be able to see where I was going. Alice was going to take me shopping.

Great. My last night of being Bella Swan, and I was going to spend it being a human guinea pig for Alice's vivacious fun.

"Yeah. Since from tomorrow onwards, you won't have many more, seeing as you'll probably hopping into bed with Edward," Charlie grunted, like we teenagers were slaves to our hormones. Whatever. He had been watching too many father documentaries. He really needed to be able to tell the difference between actors and people in real life.

Okay. Maybe I was. But it wasn't fair that Edward got accused of being horny. I mean, technically, he was already over one hundred years of age. And he had refused to 'make love' to me until I became a vampire, since he was so sure that he would rip my head off in the process.

What Charlie didn't know was that I was already 'slept' with Edward; almost every single night. Only nothing happened underneath the covers, apart from occasional kisses. Which was sweet, but didn't kind of woke me up in the process most of the time. But Charlie didn't need to know that. It had already been bad enough when we (Edward) had told him about our engagement. No need to see his reaction when he heard that the guy was sneaking into his daughter's bedroom every night. I loved my dad, and didn't want him to die of a stroke or something, especially if it was going to be my fault.

I glared daggers at Alice. I had already given up on trying to take control of my wedding-which was now in her hands like play dough. Did she have to make torture me in this way, too?

"We can go to Seattle," Alice squealed, ignoring the look I gave her the way I had learnt to ignore Lauren. "Oh, Bella, this is going to be so much fun!"

Charlie looked like he wanted to laugh. I scowled. As a father, he ought to at least look a little more sympathetic towards his daughter, who was going to be dressed until she never wanted to get changed again. After all, the gene that feared shopping was obviously from his side. I eyed the fishing rod in the corner, and instantly knew why he was so keen to get rid of me; he was going fishing. I vaguely recalled him telling me about some sort of overnight cruise that he and Billy were going on. He didn't want me to spend my last night of being Bella Swan at home alone. Or with Edward, for that matter. So he decided to throw me to Alice. He gave the phrase, 'feed them to the sharks' a new meaning.

"Fine," I sighed in defeat, seeing that it was either the Cullens' place or mine. Alice did have a wonderful bed, even if she didn't sleep on it. I stood up, indicating that the conversation was over. "let me go pack, then."

Alice grabbed my arm before I could leave. Seeing the smirk on her face, I shivered. "Oh no, Bella," she simpered, and I instantly knew that I was in the danger zone. "Don't. Let me treat you tonight." The word treat seemed to have a double meaning to it. I took it as that she meant to treat me with a makeover, which she would get all the pleasure from. Fabulous.

"Awsome," I replied sarcastically, but Charlie, unlike Edward, didn't have a radar to pick up sarcasm. He barely noticed how disappointed I looked as he all but kicked me out of the door. Alice didn't ask my permission (she knew that I would protest) as she picked me up like I weighed as much as air instead of a person and loaded me into her canary yellow car like luggage. Her eyes were the colour of butterscotch, and I knew that she had fed recently.

"Aren't you excited?" she giggled, eyes on me. My eyes nearly popped seeing how fast she was going, and I could feel the blood drain from my face. But that was the Cullens to you- driving fast and never getting into accidents.

"No," I said monotone. Whichever girl was interested in shopping was not named Bella Swan. Or Bella Cullen-whatever. The point was that I hated sport, and they say, 'shop till you drop'. I would probably trip over some ridiculous and impractical shoes she would get me in the shopping centre, taking at least three poor victims down with me. I could see the newspaper heading now: _Girl in high heels trips over flat ground and injures people. Security was called to the crisis immediately._

Ugh. How embarrassing. I smiled wickedly at the thought of how Alice would be punished if any harm came to me.

I was surprised when we stopped over by the Cullen household and Jasper got in. "Hey sister," he greeted me as he leaned in and gave Alice a kiss on the cheek. Jasper had been warming up to me and I felt good about it. The only time things got awkward was when I was left in a room alone with Rosalie, whom I was sure was still against my idea of becoming an immortal. But perhaps she would feel a little better about me once she learnt that I was delaying the process another few years. I needed her to like me if I was going to be living with her for the rest of my life... err, existence.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the car, cut once too often by Alice making the most useless comments in the history of vampires. I just sat on the leather, wondering why her husband was accompanying us on our trip, but thought it was rude to ask the brooding movie star lookalike who was sitting behind us. Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me, and before I could stop myself, I leaned back and twisted my head to focus on Jasper. "Nothing personal, but why are you coming shopping with us? Do you enjoy it?"

Both Jasper and Alice laughed; bass and soprano. "Bella, Jasper is coming shopping with us so that he can give you feedback on clothes. He knows exactly what Edward would like," Alice laughed. My heart stopped at the word _shopping._ I was never going to get used to it.

"Oh..." it took me some time to process that. When I did, I choked. "What?" I did a quick calculation. Alice+Jasper+scary shopping mall+ Bella... the outcome didn't seem too good. Why was Edward allowing this?

"Don't worry," Jasper was trying his best to wipe off the huge grin on his face. He winked, looking even more glamorous than his usual model self. "I have an excellent sense of style."

This time, I think that everyone within 10km radius heard my shriek.

**Sorry, I do know that I promised everyone that this chapter will be about Alice's shopping... but I just HAD to build up the suspense. If I am feeling generous, shopping will only last 2 or 3 chapters...**

**Check out chapter 7:**

_She made it sound like she were a police arresting a criminal. Only there was nothing criminal about protesting against being forced into going somewhere opposed to going over your dead body-and even after that. It was just so funny, watching Bella Swan spend her last day being a Swan throwing a tantrum in the Parking in a shopping centre in Seattle-not. _


	8. AN: Writer's block

**A/N: Writer's block**

**Sorry, I'm having a writer's block at the moment. I will eventually get back to **_**Just a Little More Time**_**, but until then, I will greatly appreciate your patience. I will be posting several one-shots, and please feel free to read and review them**

**Some of them that are soon/ already up are:**

Jacob and Bella**: Take a Walk in My Large Shoes**

_Does Jacob despise Edward because he is a vampire... or is it something else? New Moon in from Jacob's shoes, and the reason why our favourite werewolf loathes Mr.Cullen so much._

Edward and Bella**: How He Feels**

_We all know how broken Bella was in New Moon... but what about Edward? New Moon from Edward's perspective._

**and coming up...**

Alice**: What She Saw**

_Alice's life is falling apart: her family is in distress, she was ripped away from her best friend, her brother is in morbid depression and her lover thinks that it is all his fault. Will Alice be able to keep herself composed... or will she break down just like the rest of them? New Moon in Alice's POV_

**Thank you for your support,**

**TwiFii**


	9. Chapter 7

**Hey folks,**

**Thanks for bearing with me (and we still haven't gotten 15 reviews!), but the writer's block is still fogging up my brain, so you will have to be patient until the next chapter.  
Cheers,**  
_TwiFii_

* * *

Everyone was staring.

"Just because your kicking up such a huge fuss," Alice pointed out as a crowd started to gather around us. "if you'd just come quietly, then there wouldn't be such a huge audience."

She made it sound like she were a police arresting a criminal. Only there was nothing criminal about protesting against being forced into going somewhere opposed to going over your dead body-and even after that. It was just so funny, watching Bella Swan spend her last day being a Swan throwing a tantrum in the Parking in a shopping centre in Seattle-not.

But you honestly can't blame me. I was being taken here against my own will. I should have been the one pressing charges...it was illegal, wasn't it? I had being taken hostage, and Edward wasn't even coming to save me, because Alice and Jasper were his siblings.

Jasper put his talent to work. It helped a little when the enlivened people around us calmed down, but I could still feel their eyes on me. This was even worse than my primary school graduation, when I had tripped over the stairs up to the stage and fallen on my butt in front of all the parents. I could see the headlines of the Seattle times already: _**High heels are a woman's weapon; teenage girl injuring many with spiky shoes in shopping mall. **_

I couldn't help wondering why no one was calling the police- I mean, it was quite obvious that I was being kidnapped, wasn't it?

Not that, of course, men like Charlie with guns could do anything to harm these abductors.

How strange it must seem to everyone around us. They saw a plain looking teenage girl complaining about getting treated to cloths to a stunningly good looking couple who looked like models in one of those car commercials. Most of them would not think twice about how the poor girl felt, and sympathize the couple for having a friend, who judging by this act, clearly had something wrong with her brain.

I felt tranquility seep into my veins and my heart -that had been thumping at the thought of Alice stuffing me into something terribly expensive and impractical-started to beat regularly. I glared at Jasper, who was whistling innocently while the love of his life handled me. In a way, I guess I was thankful of the crowd, or Alice would have thrown me over her shoulder and ran to all the shops around the place, making my head spin at the speed. The last thing I needed was to throw up in one of the shops, ruining all their items and having to pay for them all.

Alice bared her teeth, looking like an actress in a Colgate commercial. "Bella," she hissed, "if you don't come, I'll have a lot more fun with the wedding than you'd like."

I gasped. How Alice to hold my own wedding up against me.

That was so unfair. It was my wedding, even if I didn't have any control over it, right? But Alice always got her way. No matter what it took.

Knowing that it would not stop her, but still giving it a shot, I said weakly, "The wedding is tomorrow. You can't do anything." _Not unless you were Alice Cullen, no.1 party planner in the whole world._

The smile she gave me was so evil that for the first time I wanted to run away from her. "Wanna bet?" She smirked. I sighed in defeat. It was either horrid shopping or a nightmare wedding-you choose.

So I was dragged into the mall, and putrid stenches of perfume reeked from every make up store we passed. I crinkled my nose in disgust. How could Alice and Jasper, who had super sensitive noses, stand all this and walk around gracefully without holding their breath? Especially Jasper (I guess Alice liked these stinks). I snuck a look at him, but he looked perfectly at ease. He was probably used to it after getting hauled around by Alice. Ugh. Stupid self-controlled, unfairly good-looking vampires.

Alice literally threw stuff at me. She shoved me into dressing rooms, and every time I had finished fitting something, she was always outside waiting for me with another heap of clothes for me to try on. Her fingers nimbly tore through the racks and found all these extremely expensive dresses and skirts to squeeze me into. She kept on telling me how much Edward would love to see me in blue, or how much he adored blouses, or how sexy he would think I looked in those miniskirts. I hated how she brought her brother up, but I couldn't resist. Anything to please Edward.

She was right about one thing, though; strangely enough, Jasper did have a good sense of style. And the cloths he chose were actually wear-able in public.

After getting piled under a mountain of cloths and trudging around for who knows how long, my stomach finally caved in and rumbled. Under most circumstances, I would have been extremely embarrassed, but it did stop Alice in her tracks and I was immensely grateful for this human need. What would I use as an excuse when I became a vampire? I surely could no longer claim to be tired, nor hungry. I shuddered. That was a truly petrifying thought.

Alice looked kind of disappointed that I had gotten hungry so quickly. "We've only been here for four hours," she complained as we all went into McDonalds. I blocked her out and inhaled the delicious smell of fries and licked my lips. At this, both Jasper and Alice made faces. I found that really strange; how could they find food gross and a mixture of at least a thousand perfumes, well... not gross?

Then, what she said hit me. "Four hours? And we're still not done?" I cried out, causing some heads to swivel our way. I didn't care. That was seriously the longest amount of time I had ever been out shopping for stuff. Was it really such a short amount of time I had been forced to entertain Alice for? Alice opened her mouth, but I shook my head frantically and stuffed a handful of fries into my mouth. "On second thought, don't even answer that." My words were muffled by the pieces of fried potato.

Jasper replied for Alice. "Well... all we have left on the agenda for you is underwear shopping."

He said it so casually that for a second I thought that I had heard him wrong. His tone was neutral; one that was used when someone was forecasting a cloudy day. But when he didn't say anything more, I felt the blood draw from my face. I closed my eyes. "No," I gasped hoarsely. "Absolutely no way. There is nothing wrong with what I'm wearing now."

Jasper shrugged, looking almost bored with our conversation. This was the most reserved man I had ever met (apart from the obvious love pouring out of his eyes every time he did so much as glance at Alice). Sometimes I wondered whether manipulating people's emotions could take a toll on the puppet master behind the scenes who was pulling all the strings. I never mentioned this out loud though, in case Alice heard me. The result would surely be bloodshed.

I nearly threw a tantrum there and then when I saw the store that Alice had led us to. "Victoria's Secret?" I hissed into her tiny ear, causing her to flinch. My head was about to explode, and I had to breathe heavily just to keep myself in check; from both attacking my soon to be sister and fainting. Vampires really were terrifying, and Alice was the scariest of all. Jasper was standing behind us, amusement written all over his face. "What are you looking at," I snapped ungraciously when a small smile lifted the corner of his lips.

"Nothing," his smile was a little too angelic for my liking. Something was up... and I didn't like it. When I didn't look away, he strangely enough misinterpreted my glare. "Don't worry, I won't peek." he assured me. "Besides, I have Alice, remember?" On cue, Alice threw her arms around her husband and gave him a kiss. That was the first time I ever saw them do anything couple-like.

The heat rose to my cheeks, and I was pretty sure I looked like a red hot air balloon, ready to explode. Not because of the kiss they were sharing, but because of Jasper's misunderstanding.

Did he honestly think that I would suspect him of being a peeping Tom? He was a gentleman (although not as much as Edward, but then again, who was?), and I respected him throughly. Maybe not as much as I could -because I couldn't help gawking at his incredibly good looking face once in a while- but it was much better than the way most humans ogled at him, wasn't it?

Besides, there was only one guy I would suspect of wanting to even see me in my underwear. Unfortunately, he declined my invitation, claiming that it was a stab at his virtue to see his girlfriend in practically nothing when they weren't even married. Somehow, I highly doubted that he would 'sleep' with me even when we were wedded. Him and his warped version of the world (where he was the devil, not the mighty knight that saved me every other day) was really taking a toll on his attitude. Didn't he know that in the 21st Century, people didn't get married to 'do it'?

Geez. Talk about old-fashioned much.

But I guess thats what you get if you're in love with a gentleman who was born in the late 1910s and also coincidentally happens to be a vampire who doesn't drink human blood because they don't want to become a monster.

Alice endangered my wedding again, I had no choice but to give in. How could someone so small be so hugely intimidating?

I wanted to laugh at the shop assistants' faces when we entered the shop.

Their jaws were hanging open, as though shrieking silently, and their eyes were glazed over with lust. All of them hardly glanced at pretty little Alice or me. No, they were all too busy staring at Jasper, who was trailing behind us. A small growl ripped through Alice's chest, too soft for anyone but myself and the other vampire to hear. I couldn't blame her for being jealous, especially if her love was going to get leered at like that every time a female was within three miles radius of him.

But Jasper, ever loyal to Alice, didn't look at any of the girls and just walked up to us, putting a strong arm around her petite waist, showing that they were together. The feral snarls faded and she smiled up at him sweetly. I nearly laughed at how upset the girls looked, but then remembered that I was an one-of-a-kind lucky person to have someone who looked so handsome as Edward as my boyfriend. These young women probably had never come across a guy as good looking as Jasper before.

Alice knew the place better than the back of her hand. She wafted over to all these racks and threw out the most scandalous looking lingerie I had ever caught sight of-if you could consider scraps that hardly covered your body lingerie. Honesty, I didn't know why people paid so much to get things that made you look like you were naked, anyway?

The rosy spots reappeared on my cheeks.

"Alice is getting back at you for inviting those mongrels to your wedding, after all the hard work she put in." Not having noticed Jasper standing right beside me up until then, I jumped upon hearing his voice. Laughter echoed in his deep golden irises as he watched Alice adoringly, but a slightly guilty expression crossed his face.

Now I knew what the smile was all about. Although it was Alice who was the one who was technically torturing me with the dress-up, Jasper found my mood amusing. He was enjoying my discomfort just as much as her. It was a win-win combination for them...but not for me.

"Jasper," I hissed, deciding to use his conscience as an ally. "I can tell by your face that you feel bad about letting your girlfriend do this to me. I will give you hell when I'm a newborn unless you do something to make everything partially-right. And I'll tell Edward that the two of you were bullying me." Even he couldn't make everything right. Nothing could go well when shopping and I were thrown into the same sentence.

He stared at me blankly, playing dumb, but sighed when I glared at him murderously. "What is your proposal? If you're about to say, 'get Alice out of here', then I'm afraid I'm incapable of doing that."

Damn. Well, that was my first request down the drain. Oh well, then I supposed that I would just have to improvise. Then, I thought of an idea. "Jasper," I said as sweetly as possible. He must have sensed the thickly covered venom in my voice, and that wiped the smile off his face. "I trust you, and I was wondering whether you could persuade Alice to get me something that actually looks presentable if Charlie finds it." Which meant no laces, no frills, no exotic patterns or colours and certainly not transparent.

Jasper scowled at me, but I just held his gaze with a brittle smile of my own. Then, a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Very well, I'll see what I can do," he said slowly, then dashed up to his love. I had absolutely zilch idea about what they were talking about, but a cute pout adorned Alice's face. She bickered back and forth with her husband, but after he whispered something into her ear, she gasped and caved in, albeit ungraciously.

"Bella," she called, eyes filled to the brim with pure disappointment.

I felt bad about upsetting her, but not bad enough to allow myself to get underwear that would live in the back of my drawer for the rest of my life.

Definitely not that bad.

I inched towards her, until she finally lost her patience grabbed my arm and dragged me closer. A dangerous look flashed across her face, and she whispered, "Why don't we cut a deal?"

* * *

**Sorry for the cliff hanger, folks. But I am unpredictable...**

**What will Alice try to get Bella to do for her?**

**No preview, as I'm still working on Chapter 8**


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was stranded without internet.**

**I'm not very sure when I will next update, but I will try to asap. Forgive me, and enjoy!**

The warning bell inside my head started to ring alarmingly loudly, like when I had jumped off the cliff at La Push. Alice's face cut off everything else from my view, and I started to feel dizzy. All the blood was rushing to my head, trying to figure out Alice's treacherous plot, and my legs felt like jelly. I was nauseous, just the way I was with blood- only this time I was feeling faint because of fear.

Edward had said that I needed a good doze of fear, and there he had it. Nothing could be more petrifying than Alice Cullen.

Her breath was unnaturally cold and a wicked smirk graced her lips, making her look like a true vampire -or hollywood fake, as you like it. "Bella," she whispered, "How about I choose one set for you, and you can choose the other. Just two pairs, both on my account."

I stared, waiting for the big bomb that would blow me into bits and pieces. But when nothing else happened, I blinked dumbly and asked, "that's all?"

She sighed impatiently, as though speaking to a mentally incapable being. Which I guess I was, right now... in a way. "No," Sarcasm marred her tone and she rolled her eyes at me. "I'm going to demand you to get everything in this store, and then we're going to get you a supreme makeover and then whisk you to a day spa."

I laughed nervously, knowing that Alice was actually capable of carrying out that cruel task if she wanted to. But she was joking... or so I hoped. Just to make sure, I asked, "You're kidding, right?"

She rolled her eyes again, and this time, she purposefully spoke extremely slowly. "Yes Bella. I know what Edward will do to me." the shop assistants were tittering in the background. Probably, I thought, at my dumbness. Then, wistfulness filled those deep golden orbs as she looked at me, long black eyebrows slanted up and lip trembling in this heartbreaking expression. "But I'd like to," she added. "Would you like to make my wish come true?"

"No," I cried out a little loudly, and this time my human ears caught the giggling coming from the other end of the shop. I scowled, and another lapse of redness took over my face. "Lets just get this over with."

Alice was fast. There was a very large chance that she had already seen me not objecting the undergarments that she offered. She looked torn over about five different sets, three blues, one black and one red. I immediately told her that red was out of question, as was anything that she thought was sexy. Which meant that we kind of couldn't get anything in this store. Non-sexy, I mean.

But Alice made up her mind soon enough. She chose a midnight blue matching bra-and-underwear set. It wasn't too lacy, or too showy, but it was slinky and TIGHT. Underwear was supposed to be COMFORTABLE. What was the point in wearing something disagreeing when no one was going to see it, anyway? But Alice just shook her head and stood by her decision firmly. She told me that it would make me look more desirable and appealing to the eye.

I glared at her sourly, but she terrorized me into trying it on. So I gave in without good grace and bitterly stomped into one of the cramped up fitting rooms to put it on. Get it over and done with, I told myself. Over and done with.

I couldn't reach my back to clamp up the skin-irritating thing. This was so humiliating. But it would be even more embarrassing if Alice barged in when I wasn't decent (if you could call being in your underwear decent). Meekly, I whispered, "Alice, little help," knowing that she would hear me.

I didn't know why or how she got there, but in a flash, little Ms.Cullen was standing beside me, clasping the dreadful _thing _ with ease. Maybe vampires could actually go through walls like ghosts. That would explain how all the Cullens appeared and disappeared without so much as a flutter of the wind or a tap on the floor. Pursing her lips, Alice looked at me from underneath her long lashes, the way people went to the aquarium and surveyed clownfish. I felt like a fool, standing there like a ragdoll in front of Alice.

"Jasper, what do you think?" I heard her murmur softly. She had to cover my mouth with her hand to stop the shriek that had escaped my lips. Jasper appeared to materialize from thin air, and was standing next to Alice, tawny hair ruffled slightly from what I guessed was a slight breeze of the freezing air-con above.

Honestly. You didn't need air-con in Seattle. Not in Autumn.

Goosebumps appeared on my forearms, both caused by mortification and the cold. I scowled at the two fiercely, trying to save my dignity that had just slipped down the drain. If there was a drain nearby, anyway. Although I wasn't really counting on a reply, I turned to Jasper and hissed, "well?"

To my utter and downright amazement, Jasper smiled at me. ME. The person who he had nearly chomped at on my eighteenth birthday. I had always thought that Jasper was wary of me, but this was a genuine grin that lit up his face. "You're a genius," he praised Alice, who smirked at me smugly. Then, turning to me, he said sincerely, "you look beautiful, Bella."

That caught me off guard. "Um, thanks?" I said, totally forgetting my lack of clothing. But Alice and Jasper were already gone, and they left me in a puzzled, frustrated and unsatisfied state to get myself back in my clothes. Huffing, I tried to take it off, but was again unsuccessful. Stupid bra-straps were so damn stubborn.

A cold hand reached out and snapped it off, and I heard a quiet sigh, and Alice mutter something about being completely inflexible and incapable of even changing. By the time I pivoted around (and nearly banged my head on the mirror in the process), I was alone again. It was honestly as though vampires were made out of liquid... they could change into a solid state, but then would dissolve into air.

After wrestling off the second-skin, I creaked open the door of the dressing room, feeling ambushed and humiliated.

The happy couple were waiting for me forever patiently. Or lets just say that Alice didn't yell at me for taking my 'own sweet time'.

I was so drained of energy from fighting with the lingerie that all I really wanted to do was to just purchase whatever Alice had gotten me and get the hell out of there, but then I remembered that we had a deal- she chose one set, I chose another.

But that was before I knew how much time and effort it took to browse through the selections of undergarments, trying to find another decent looking piece of clothing. Every time I randomly shoved my hand into a rack, my hand usually usually came out with disgraceful cloths that I quickly threw back in. Eventually, I gave up, and allowed Alice to pick something else so that we could just leave.

Alice smirked; she knew what had been coming. Within seven seconds, she was at the counter paying for the mortifying underwear and out we breezed from the shop. I found it somehow much easier to breathe out of Victoria's Secret. My senses had dulled and the stink of the mixture of perfumes no longer bothered me -I had found something much more horrifying than the stench in this mall.

We staggered (well, I did) to the car, arms so full of shopping bags that I highly doubted that everything would fit into the boot of the Porsche. But somehow, Jasper managed to squeeze everything in, and folded himself into the front seat (Alice liked to have power over the wheel). People around us ogled at the car, and some even whistled lowly when the engine purred to life.

And then, we were off.


End file.
